from Dublin to........Mirissa, Sri Lanka: The Aeolian Islands, Italy

The islands were formed over several phases, the first between 330,000 and 160,000 years ago, then 160,000 to 130,000 (the most active period) and the third period saw various volcanoes on several islands formed. The two most (currently) active volcanoes are the youngest, Vulcano at 100,000 years and Stromboli at 40,000 years. Inhabited for around 6,000 years after the discovery of obsidian, a very hard, vitreous rock, used in the making of tools, knives, arrow heads and blades. Homer’s Odyssey makes reference to some myths derived from Aeolian culture.

The history of Lipari, the largest and most populous island within the small archipelago, is rather grim. Constant invasion and defeat ending in mass death, torture and enslavement. The Greeks, Romans, Normans, Muslims and various King’s within Italy all had their time occupying Lipari and the neighbouring islands (some just asked for a ransom to be on their way….'x' talents per person) given its strategic location near the Tyrrhenian Strait, an important trading route.

Industry has centred around the minerals spewed out by the volcanic eruptions, as well as salt mining. The fertile but extremely rugged landscape produces olives, capers, wine, citrus and ancient chestnut trees believed to be planted by the Romans. You can see this if you walk around the island - a decent all-day hike.

Only a few foodie recommendations:

* Trattoria D'oro (Via Umberto, Lipari) - Bit of a local institution, possibly the busiest place in town. Recommended by Salvatore at the Tourist Office who has family in both Melbourne and Sydney. I had the spaghetti da melanozza (midnight spaghetti) which was simple, yet good. The spaghetti with mussels looked excellent. Finished it off with a massive slab of pannacotta.

* Pasticceria D'Ambra Gelat (Vico Morfeo, Marina Corta, Lipari) - Went here every day, sometimes twice, because it was around the corner from my accom but they had the best pastries in Lipari. Canollis were excellent, super fresh. Great cornettis and donut-like things. Reasonable selection and usually got something else thrown in for free (which I really didn't need as I would always order too much anyway). Only place in town that seems to have free wi-fi too.

FYI - Enogastronomica Eoliana, a food and wine week, is held on Salina during the first week of October each year.

Salina Island

Marina Corta

Would you fill up your boat here???

View of Vulcano smouldering (from Lipari)

Lipari fortified part of town

Finally I get to climb an active volcano - Stromboli!

Clears skies but the wind was up so the 1.5-2hr ferry to Stromboli island was a little unnerving. Via Vulcano, Salina, Panacrea and on to Stromboli. The design of the boat is flawed – perfect in calm seas but completely rubbish and dangerous in a bit of chop. The nose of the boat went completely under half a dozen times spewing water all over the front of the boat. Terrible driving.

As we approached Stromboli, it became clear that most of the cloud you see hovering at the peak is in fact gases and steam that has been released from the volcano. When walking around town before our departure, you could hear rumbles and the occasional crack of thunder…..it was just Stromboli. There is an explosion, on average, every 15-20mins. This kind of activity is known world-wide as strombolicchio, frequent, minor eruptions without lava flow.

As we began our ascent to 926m, to look down into the crater’s mouth 200m below, there was a very loud roar. Everybody stopped in their tracks. Stromboli is so active. I hadn’t quite imagined you’d be able to hear it from so far away. A major eruption could bury the town but minor ones with lava flow pose no threat due to the various ridges protecting the town, directing lava flow into the sea. Two-thirds of Stromboli remains below sea-level.

The peak looked so far away, but given the path is quite steep, you make quick inroads. The slow pace of ascent doesn’t leave you tired either. Old cultivated land turns into scrub then rock and volcanic sand. The top third is barren, exposed to the constant winds and inner heat. A scree slope descends almost the entire way down the side of the volcano. We would later use this as our path down in the dark – 50> degree angle.

We arrived at the top after around 2hrs. At this point our guide Antonio needed to make a decision as to where we would spend our hour or so at the top. It was wind dependent and it was really windy. The decision was made for him as when we arrived at the top it was a white out and too dangerous to navigate the narrow ridge around the crater to the best vantage point for looking into the crater. We basically got caught out at the top between the best viewing locations, unable to move, exposed to the freezing wind. On two occasions the cloud and gases cleared at the same time as Stromboli exploded. Awesome sight. So much more impressive and powerful than expected. And this was an everyday occurrence. It had been particularly active in recent days, including a lava flow in August. Yellow hot rocks spewed out and tumbled down the mountain side fading in brightness. Even when the explosions occurred with cloud cover, it would light up the haze with an orange/red glow. If you dig a few inches into the sand, it is very warm.

After our 45min of waiting for the cloud to clear, it became apparent it wouldn’t. We were all shivering and ready to head back down. My headlamp was rubbish, barely emitted enough light to see the ground let alone define it well enough to know what you were stepping on. Dangerous as hell. An hour descent on a cushioned sandy slope with Stromboli glowing in the background.

Hard to get decent photos when you don’t have a tripod and only have a couple occasions to set the camera up. Think I managed to do better than most though, bit lucky.